Indeed, the cultivation of the soil for the production
of food may be considered as one of the first steps in his civilization.
Among the foods he cultivated were grains, and from the earliest times
to the present day they have been the main crop and have formed the
chief food of people wherever it is possible to produce them.
The grains belong to the family of grasses, and through cultivation
their seeds, which store the nourishment for the growth of new plants,
have been made to store a sufficient amount of nourishment to permit man
to collect and use it as food. The name cereals was derived from the
goddess Ceres, whom the Romans believed to be the protector of their
crops and harvests. Numerous grains are produced, but only eight of
these cereals are used extensively as food, namely, wheat, corn, oats,
rice, barley, rye, buckwheat, and millet.
2. ABUNDANCE OF PRODUCTION.--With the exception of the desert lands and
the Arctic regions, cereals of some kind are grown over the entire
world. Some varieties thrive in the hot countries, others flourish in
the temperate regions, and still others mature and ripen in the short
warm season of the colder northern climates. In fact, there is
practically no kind of soil that will not produce a crop of some variety
of grain. Since grains are so easily grown and are so plentiful, cereals
and foods made from them furnish a large part of the world's food
supply.
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